When you cook Sous Vide Filet Mignon you’re guaranteed a succulent and tender restaurant-quality steak every time. This Sous Vide steak recipe takes as little as one hour plus two minutes to pan sear for the perfect crust.
Wondering what my tested and perfected secret ingredient is? Better Than Bouillon! I use it as the marinade for filet mignon. I invented this trick when brainstorming new binders for smoked steaks.
While not a “must have” ingredient, it does add a ton of flavor and leaves the meat with a nice brown coloring vs an unsightly pale coloring. Plus think of the pan sauce you can make with the liquid. It’s what we use when making Smoked Chuck Roast and Sous Vide London Broil as well.
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Sous Vide Filet Mignon Recipe
This sous vide steak recipe let’s the natural beef flavor shine by minimizing the use of dry rub and aromatics. The delicate nature of beef tenderloin lends to this method. Other than Better Than Bouillon, the only spices I add are garlic powder, black pepper and kosher salt. But, you do you! Season away.
Serve with Horseradish Sauce, Horseradish Sauce For Beef Tenderloin, or make a beef au jus with the leftover juices in the bag. Just sub the juices in for the beef stock.
Sous Vide Method
Sous vide, a cooking technique with a long history, is only recently gaining popularity in home kitchens, thanks to the availability of consumer-friendly sous vide machines. Sous vide is a French term that translates to “under vacuum,”. It’s a culinary method involving sealing food in a bag and then cooking it in a water bath set to the exact temperature you prefer your steaks to be cooked to.
When testing and cooking sous vide recipes I utilize this exact Anova Immersion Circulator; it has two years of heavy use and is still going strong.
More Sous Vide Beef Recipes to check out: Sous Vide Prime Rib and Sous Vide Tri Tip.
How To Cook
Only a few short steps stand between you and your perfect steak sous vide.
Step 1 – Pre-heat the sous vide water bath to your preferred temperature (consult the temperature chart below) using a sous vide immersion circulator.
Step 2 – Prepare the steak by adding the selected spices or sous vide marinade you’re going with. Once seasoned/marinated, add the seasoned steak to the sous vide bag and vacuum seal.
Step 3 – Transfer the filet to your sous vide machine and set the timer to the proper length for your delicious steak. Consult the “how long does it take to cook a steak” chart below. It’s important to determine the correct time so you don’t end up with a rare steak when you’re aiming for a medium rare steak.
Step 4 (Optional Step)– Reverse sear the cooked steak in a very hot skillet with oil for 45-60 seconds per side to develop a nice crust add add a nice brown color to the exterior. The below picture is how it looks coming out of the water bath.
Pan Seared Filet Mignon
While I highly recommend pan searing the filet mignon, after pulling it from the water, it’s not required. This cooking method cooks steaks at the perfect temperature to serve. You’ll just set the sous vide machine to the exact temperature you want to serve it at.
To pan sear, pre-heat a cast iron skillet over medium-hight heat. When ready to go, throw in a pat of butter (or even truffled butter) and a bit of oil (I recommend avocado oil). Sear the steaks for 45-60 seconds per side, until your desired crust is reached. While searing baste the steak with the melted butter.
Temperature
Reverse searing filet mignon steaks will increase the temp by 5° or so, so keep that in mind when setting up your water bath.
- Rare: 120°F to 128°F
- Medium-Rare: 129°F to 134°F
- Medium: 135°F to 144°F
- Medium-Well: 145°F to 155°F
- Well Done: 156°F +
Check out our free printable Filet Mignon Temperature Chart, Temperature Chart For Steak or Beef Temperature Chart for quick reference.
How Long To Sous Vide Steak?
Cook time is determined by the thickness of the steak (measure the height of the steak when on the counter to determine the thickness). The below timing chart is for cooking steak 1.5″ – 2″ thick as the majority of filet mignon steaks are this height.
- Rare: 1–2.5 hours
- Medium-Rare: 1-4 hours
- Medium: 1-4 hours
- Medium Well: 1-3.5 hours
- Well Done: 1-3 hours
FOOD SAFETY TIP: If you cook your sous vide filet mignon below 130°F, it should only be in the water for up to 2.5 hours. Any longer and you risk running into food safety issues.
Equipment
Sous vide cooking does require some equipment. Here’s what you’re looking at:
- Sous Vide Immersion Circulator – Any brand will work! I use the popular Anova Immersion Circulator.
- Vacuum Sealer
- Vacuum Seal Bags – You can always use a Ziploc bag and use the water displacement method, if desired.
- Sous Vide Food Container – I use this sous vide food container for my sous vide steak recipes.
- Cast Iron Skillet – You only need a cast iron pan if pan searing.
Aromatics
Throw some aromatics in the bag for added flavor, if you like. Here are a few ideas: fresh thyme, rosemary, oregano, onion, shallots, etc. Sous vide does bring out the concentration of herbs, so use sparingly compared to your normal amount.
Steak Sauces
Here are some amazing steak dipping sauces, perfect for sous vide filet mignon, if you’re a sauce lover like me:
Recipe Notes
- Reserve searing creates a LOT of smoke. Turn on the oven fan, or open the windows, to get ahead of it a bit.
- Make sure to do a thorough job patting dry the sous vide steak with paper towels. To get a good pan-seared crust, the steak needs to be dry.
- Make sure the steaks are fully submerged in the sous vide bath. If the meat isn’t fully submerged it won’t cook properly. Do not even attempt as food safety would not be guaranteed.
- If your sous vide bag floats, either try to re-seal or utilize something to weight it down. You can always invest in some sous vide weights.
Side Dish Ideas
Here are some amazing side dish ideas I often serve with beef:
- Sous Vide Asparagus
- Sous Vide Mashed Potatoes
- Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Roasted Brussel Sprouts
- Garlic Butter Roasted Mushrooms
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Reheat Filet Mignon?
The best way to re-heat Sous Vide Filet Mignon is to heat it back up in a water bath! Heat the water to just below the cooking time you used the first go round. The time will stay the same as the first cook.
Can You Sous Vide Frozen Steak?
Definitely! Cooking a frozen steak using the sous vide method is entirely feasible. There’s no requirement to thaw them first. Simply extend the cooking duration by one hour to ensure they defrost completely.
What Wine Pairs With Beef?
To bring date night or valentine’s day to the next level, grab you’re favorite bottle of wine to enjoy over your steak dinner. Wines that pair well with the perfect sous vide filet mignon: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Bordeaux Blend or Malbec.
Related Articles
Ribeye vs. New York Strip
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Temperature Chart For Beef Tenderloin
Prepared Horseradish vs Horseradish Sauce
Horseradish – List of recipes and uses!
Ingredients
USING BETTER THAN BOUILLON
- 1 filet mignon steak
- 1-2 tsp Better Than Bouillon, Beef Flavor (*Note 1)
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 1-2 sprigs rosemary or thyme (optional)
NOT USING BETTER THAN BOUILLON
- 1 filet mignon steak
- ½ tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1-2 sprigs rosemary or thyme (optional)
PAN SEARING (OPTIONAL)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2 sprigs rosemary or thyme
Instructions
- Pre-heat the water bath to your preferred doneness (*Note 2) using a sous vide immersion circulator.
- Using Better than Bouillon – Pat dry the steak with a paper towel. Coat the filet with Better than Bouillon and garlic powder. Place the filet in a vacuum-seal bag (in a single layer if making more than 1), add 2 springs of rosemary or thyme (optional) and close using a vacuum sealer or water displacement method.Not Using Better than Bouillon – Pat dry the steak with a paper towel. Coat the filet with olive oil then kosher salt, black pepper and garlic powder. Place the filet in a vacuum-seal bag (in a single layer if making more than 1), add 2 springs of rosemary or thyme (optional) and close using a vacuum sealer or water displacement method.1 filet mignon steak1-2 tsp Better Than Bouillon, Beef Flavor½ tsp garlic powder1-2 sprigs rosemary or thyme (optional)
- Transfer the vacuum bag to the water bath and cook for 60 minutes minimum. Reference the time chart in the post or notes to see what the max. time is. (*Note 3)
- After the filet is finished cooking, remove the bag from the water bath. Carefully remove the filet from the bag and pat dry. Discard any juice that accumulated, unless you're using to make an au jus.
Reverse Sear
- Add butter and oil to a cast iron skillet and pre-heat over medium-high heat until it's scorching hot (it will start to smoke a little). This will take approx. 3-5 minutes. (*Note 4)1 tbsp unsalted butter1 tbsp olive oil
- Add the garlic cloves and rosemary/thyme springs to the skillet, quickly followed by the filet.2 cloves garlic, smashed1-2 sprigs rosemary or thyme (optional)
- Sear each side of the filet for 45 seconds. While searing, tip the pan a little so the butter collects on one side of the pan. Use a spoon to baste the steak with the melted butter. Continue to scoop and pour the butter over the steak until it's ready to flip.
- Turn off the stove and transfer the steak to your plate, season as desired. Enjoy immediately as there is no need to rest the steak.
Notes
- Rare Ribeye: 120°F to 128°F
- Medium-Rare Ribeye: 129°F to 134°F
- Medium Ribeye: 135°F to 144°F
- Medium Well Ribeye: 145°F to 155°F
- Well Done Ribeye: 156°F +
- Rare: 1 – 2.5 hours*
- Medium-Rare: 1 – 4 hours
- Medium: 1 – 4 hours
- Medium Well: 1 – 3.5 hours
- Well Done: 1 – 3 hours
